The invention relates generally to semiconductor manufacturing processes and, in particular, to systems and methods for design rules checking to optimize the waiver of design rules while ensuring compliant designs that are manufacturable.
Design rule checking is an area of electronic design automation that determines whether or not the physical layout of a particular chip design satisfies a series of recommended parameters known as design rules. Design rules are a series of parameters provided by semiconductor manufacturers that enable the designer to verify a set of photomasks. In particular, a set of design rules specifies geometric and connectivity restrictions to ensure sufficient margins to account for variability inherent in semiconductor manufacturing processes and to ensure that a layout design conforms to the physical constraints required to produce it. Design rule sets have become increasingly more complex with each subsequent generation of semiconductor process.
Improved systems and methods for design rules checking are needed that optimize the waiver of violated design rules while ensuring compliant designs that are manufacturable.